Hainan

Hainan (海南) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located at the southern end of the country. It consists of several islands, the largest of which is also called Hainan (Hainan Dao). And when speaking of "Hainan" in Chinese, it is usually the main Hainan Island that is referred to. To emphasize that the entire province is meant, one says Hainan Sheng ("Hainan Province"). Its capital city is Haikou.

海南省
Hǎinán Shěng

Province Abbreviation(s): 琼 qíong'
Capital	Haikou
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 28th 34,000 km² xx%
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 28th 7,870,000 231/km²
Administration Type	Province
Governor	Wei Liucheng

History

Hainan Island was called the Pearl Cliffs (珠崖 Zhu1 ya2), the Fine Jade Cliffs (瓊崖 Qiong2 ya2), and the Fine Jade Land (瓊州 Qiong2 zhou1), the latter two gave rise to the province's abbreviation, Qiong (琼 in Simplified Chinese).

In Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms Period, Hainan was the Zhuya Commandery (珠崖郡).

Hainan was one of the last areas of China controlled by the Chiang Kai-Shek's KMT. From March to May 1950, the Landing Operation on Hainan Island (海南島登陸戰役) captured the island for the Chinese communists.

During the early 1990s, there was a major corruption scandal in Hainan.

Administration

Hainan Province consists of:

• 2 regional cities (地级市): Haikou and Sanya (三亚)
• County-level:
  • 4 counties (县)
  • 7 county-level cities (县级市): Wanning
  • 1 office: the Office of West, South, and Central Sands Archipelagos (西、南、中沙群岛办事处) (the South China Sea Islands)
  • 6 nationality autonomous counties (民族自治县): all are for the Li, sometimes cohabited with the Miao
  • 5 municipal districts (市辖区)
• Subcounty-level:
  • 2,000 townships (镇)
  • 97 regions (乡)
  • 2,533 villages (村)

Hainan was historically part of Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province, being as such, it was the Qiongya Circuit (瓊崖道) in 1912 (the establishment of the Republic of China). In 1921, it was planned to became a Special Administrative Region (瓊崖特別行政區), and in 1944 and became Hainan Special Administrative Region with 16 counties that contains the South China Sea Islands.

On May 1, 1950 (under the PRC), the Special Administrative Region became an Administrative Region Office (海南行政区公署), a branch of the Guangdong provincial government. On October 1, 1984, it became the Hainan Administrative Region (海南行政区), with a People's Government, and finally as province separated from Guangdong four years later.

Geography

Hainan is the second largest island of China (after Taiwan). Qiongzhou Strait (瓊州海峽) locates north of Hainan and separates it from the Leizhou Peninsula (雷州半島) of Guangdong. To the west is the Gulf of Tonkin.

In the official PRC territorial claim, Hainan Province includes not just one island, but also some 200 South China Sea Islands. The containment of the South China Sea Islands makes Hainan Province have a very large water body, but disproportionally small land area. James Shoal (曾母暗沙 Zengmu Ansha), which is presently marked by the PRC, signifies the country's southernmost border. But the Malaysians also claim it is on their continental shelf.

Economy

Since the 1980s, the Hainan province has been a special economic zone of China. The province has a reputation for being a "Wild West" area.

Demographics

There are 10,000 Buddhist Hainanese, and 6,500 Muslims. Because Hainan had been a point in the travel route of missionaries, there has been a high number of Christians: 35,000 Protestants and 4,100 Catholics.

Like in most eastern provinces, there is about 85% Han Chinese. Most, if not all, of the 6,500 Muslim Hainanese mentioned above are Hui Chinese living near Sanya.

See also: Li Chinese

Culture

• Qiong Opera (瓊劇)

Tourism

• Yalong Wan (牙龙湾 Crescent Dragon Bay), Sanya City, southern Hainan: 7-km beach.

The province has initiated a visa-upon-arrival policy for foreign tourist groups from 21 countries in 2000, in order to attract visitors. It received 380,000 overseas tourists in 2002.

Miscellaneous topics

Hainan is a sister province of Jeju island-province of South Korea.

External links

• Official Provincial Website (in Simplified Chinese)
• Official Website of the Office of East, South, and Central Sands Archipelagos (in Simplified Chinese)